While I patiently (ok, not so patiently) wait for a summer delivery of a slightly pre-owned 2007 997TT I am wondering about the stock exhaust system (not headers). My M3 benefitted from an exhaust (Supersprint) exhaust upgrade. And some posts on PCA (Technical Q & A section - so you'd think the author/advisor has considerable knowledge and experience) have indicated that the stock 997TT exhaust is a bit restrictive re back pressure and a bit of increased heat. The PCA post also states the new TT is sensitive to heat and back pressure issues.

So, I'm wondering if I should be proactive and change the exhaust when I'm dropping the original, for me substantial, cost of the TT. I think this would be about $5K with labor. Or is this overkill for someone new to Porsche and who will use the car for daily driver, road trips and about 1/2 dozen days on the track each year. From my past M experience, I take heat and lubrication issues seriously. On the other hand, it's hard as a newbie to think Porsche would put less than stellar products on it's cars. It seems I have difficulty getting technical info so any other sources for this would be appreciated.

Thanks for any advice on this.

Bruce

 

mine are great. from fabspeed in USA.
i was happy with theirs for my last 996 4CS so had another one for the 997 turbo too.

daily driver always - enjoy them as much as possible. cheaper that way
gday all

 

Thanks for the info. Besides the power gains, did you notice a smaller turbo lag? What was the installation time? I've seen their videos and I'm trying to decide, if I upgrade the exhaust as soon as I take delivery, if I should go with Awe or Fabspeed. They are about the same price and quality, it appears, so I guess it's a sound factor. I like that you can add on to their products later.
Bruce

 

bruce,

i did not think it made any difference to the lag, and there is no lag as such. it might have been too small for me to detect, and it is the sound that really attracts me.


i did, however detect better engine responses with a sport filter.

on the subject of lag, there were times that i also experienced (in the N/A 996) that could just about being called drag-the odd hesitancy at certain revs, and at certain rates of combustion.

both the two settings in tiptronic cars can also produce a lag, if you want to call it that,

with smoother and sympathetic driver inputs, when driving both slow or very fast all these 'instances' vanish.

i drive manual cars differently to tiptronic cars. when perfected in both modes, there is great enjoyment but the techniques are different.

always turn music off and feel/hear the engine and chassis communicating to you.

regarding AWE i have not used or seen them, but i have not been able to understand their philosophy of reducing exhaust circumferences to increase flow.
i need education on this.


gday.

 

Thanks. Sounds (no pun intended) you got a good set up that suits you. I have noticed, during test drives, a slight turbo lag at lower rpm but it may vary from car to car. From my experience with Supersprint (for M3) the varying size of pipe diameters it to keep (increase) lower rpm torque while increasing HP at higher rpm. This may apply to 997TT AWE as well, but I'm not sure. Check this out, especially page 70. http://awe-tuning.com/media/pdf/02_08_T911.pdf
Enjoy your TT.
Bruce

 

If you are going to the expense of uprating the exhaust, you might as well compliment it with an ECU re write, and improved Intake/Filtration.
Regards Big Bob

 

Good point Big Bob (I'm a Porsche newbie so I appreciate informed advice). However at this point I would prefer to do just the exhaust for now and deal with the ECU mod later. It appears, from their website, the ECU is about the same price and the exhaust. I'd like to get used to driving the TT before I enter into warp speed power with the ECU (it will be my all year daily driver including our Canadian snowy and icy winters so I wonder about the extra power and road grip -any thoughts here?). And from my experience, once you add this kind of power you are starting to have to add other mods (brakes, suspension, headers, etc.) to keep the balance of the car. It seems that the exhaust will slightly reduce the already small turbo lag, reduce heat, and give me about 30 extra hp and tq along the stock power curve. Does this sound about right? The sound issues is tricky and subjective when all I have to go on are Internet videos.

Do you know if I can just add the AWE exhaust upgrade without experiencing any running difficulties or CEL issues?

Thanks again for your response to my questions.
Bruce

 

Hi
Replacing the exhaust only should create no system problems, providing the O2 sensors are removed and replaced without damaging them.
On the brakes, I assume the car does not have Ceramic Brakes as standard. I would advise some upgraded pads by say EBC etc, and braided hoses as the most that would be needed, as the Turbo is a well engineered car. However I would wait until the Pads need to be changed and do it then.
In having the Turbo the 4x4 is going to give you a lot of confidence anddriving security in the snow and ice. However if you get 30bhp from the exhaust you will still be driving a 500+bhp car, and this type of power should always be treated with respect, and in a responsible manner (sorry to sound a bit like a schoolmaster, but Porsche owners have a responsibility to influence society favourably!)Regards Big Bob

 

I'm taking delivery of my new 997 Turbo in July (standard brakes). Have beenconsidering of replacing the exhaust. Read some good reports in the "Total 911" magazine on the "cargraphics" kit in Germany (stage 1 is about $5,500 with the air filter)...I'm want something not too noisy though less muted than standard... Anybody have tried it?any feedback?would a replacement exhaust or exhaust + filteraffect the warranty? All comments welcomed

 

Normally it should only affect your Porsche Warranty on the bits you replace. Ie Exhaust, Filters etc. But not the ECU.
Regards Big Bob